Writer’s Roundtable – Home Run Derby Predictions

The 2014 Gillette Home Run Derby is tonight (8 p.m. on ESPN); live from Target Field in Minneapolis. MLB.com explained the new format to this year’s Derby:

…featuring 10 players who will get seven outs per round, with bracketed play after the first round.Five players from each league will bat in the opening round, with seven outs instead of the previous ten. The player who hits the most homers in each league will automatically receive a bye to the third round (semifinals). The next two players from each league with the most homers will square off against one another in a head-to-head matchup in the second round.The winners of these matchups will advance to the third round to compete against the league’s top seed. The final round will feature the winners of the American and National League semifinals going head-to-head to determine the winner of the event, won last year at Citi Field by Yoenis Cespedesof the A’s.

It means a player who has an unconscious first round — and thus a serious workout — will have a nice breather by sitting out the second round.